Re-evaluation
Re-evaluation
[What would have happened if Mangostic hadn't destroyed the bridge... real facts]
Today we're examining the black tentacle mass incident (a.k.a. Black Monster) that occurred in Seoul.
Let's assume the Black Monster departed from the Han-eun Group HQ in Yeongdeungpo-gu and continued in a straight line, crossing Mapo Bridge.
Devastating damage to Mapo-gu, Jung-gu, Jongno-gu, Seongbuk-gu, Gangbuk-gu, and Nowon-gu north of the Han River (estimated deaths: several hundred thousand).
Uijeongbu, Pocheon, and Cheorwon would also be obliterated.
Further estimates suggest North Korea, China, and Russia would have sustained massive damage as well.
And you know what's scarier?
The American Hero Association's recently released report states the following:
'According to footage capturing the early behavior of the Korean-Black Disaster, this lifeform appears to possess a degree of intelligence. It initially seemed to move blindly forward because it hadn't yet fully regained consciousness, but once its intelligence fully awakened, it would likely have been able to change direction on its own.'
Simply put, those Han-eun Group bastards essentially created Cthulhu. American netizens are actually calling that thing Cthulhu or a worm.
Analysis suggests it would be uncertain whether two or three American S-rank heroes fighting it all day could even win. We're genuinely lucky water was its weakness.
But even with a weakness, the real problem was its apparent intelligence. If it were a mindless thing that only charged straight ahead, rain alone would eventually kill it. But once it developed intelligence, it would be hopeless. If it avoided the heroes, even S-ranks would struggle to deal with it.
And even if it were eliminated later, by that point, millions of people across northern Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and North Korea would probably already be dead, yeah.
Conclusion: Praise Mangostic
[Upvotes] 1255 [Downvotes] 6
=[Comments]=
[The Egostic fan cafe—the Mangostic Fandom or whatever—is already going crazy with praise lol]
└ [For real, the Mangostic Fandom that used to get roasted nonstop is making one hell of a comeback lol]
[I live in Seoul and, fuck, I seriously thought I was going to die. Everything was perfectly normal, then this bone-chilling scream as loud as a siren started reverberating everywhere. I thought the world was ending.]
[Wtf I saw the black bastard's movement route that got posted and my house was dead center on the path lol Just about said goodbye to my life right there]
[Seriously, people can laugh about it now because that thing died so absurdly easily. If it had survived, hundreds of thousands would be dead and a national emergency would've been declared.]
[I was in Yeouido and it was terrifying af... Was at the grocery store when suddenly the sky started vibrating and this fingernails-on-glass screaming started—all the kids were crying and pissing themselves, total chaos]
[There are even rumors that the government and the Association were so panicked they were about to declare martial law lol]
[I'm honestly more curious about Egostic now than that already-dead monster. Is this guy fr an S-rank hero named Apple Mango from the future?]
└ [Even the boomers have to admit it now. Egostic is a hero.]
└ [The Association bastards aren't doing their goddamn jobs. Egostic is still listed as a villain due to a 'system error';;]
└ [Fr lol these guys are negligent as hell]
***
The place where the world's strongest heroes gather.
Where equally vicious villains congregate.
Where the Hero Association's power and intelligence web reaches its peak: America.
While the Korean Association stood dazed by the sudden crisis, repeating the same public message—"The situation now appears to present no further issues, so citizens may rest assured and return to their daily lives"—the first official analysis report on the incident came from the American Association, on the other side of the planet.
The American Association named it the Black Disaster.
The name was then adopted back in Korea, and the Korean Association officially designated the day's incident the Black Disaster as well.
An incident that plunged South Korea into shock.
A monster that filled Seoul with an eerie sound and toppled buildings with the faintest twitch had burst suddenly from the earth. No matter how accustomed Koreans had grown to sudden terrorist attacks by villains, this rattled them.
Those who happened to be in Mapo-gu at that hour and witnessed it with their own eyes reported feeling cosmic horror at the terrifying sight that blotted out the sky, with some complaining of psychological distress.
Many people were left utterly dumbfounded by how absurdly easily it vanished—a far cry from its overwhelming presence when it first appeared. Still, a good outcome was a good outcome, right?
Now, they had to find the cause.
Just what the hell happened underground for that thing to emerge?
What? It came from beneath the Han-eun Group headquarters? Summon every Han-eun Group executive! These guys have to be insane motherfuckers.
...What? All Han-eun Group executives and employees are unreachable?
Those bastards?
And so, starting with the president of Han-eun Group, many key figures—including Dr. Kim Seon-woo, one of the core personnel—vanished and became wanted fugitives. But no matter where they fled, they were impossible to find.
Thus, Han-eun Group, one of South Korea's leading conglomerates, collapsed overnight.
With the full picture becoming somewhat clearer and time blunting the edge of fear, people began to think differently.
Whoa. If that thing hadn't drowned in the river, we would've been completely screwed.
Wait. Its original path apparently had a bridge.
And that bridge was broken, and that was how it died.
Who broke that bridge, anyway?
Ah! Egostic had destroyed it.
Of all the many, many bridges, the one Egostic blew up was the exact one that thing "coincidentally" tried to cross. And Egostic "coincidentally" destroyed it so it couldn't cross.
Coincidence... like that?
Two... coincidences?
Hold on. No, thinking about it logically for a second.
Was this really... a coincidence?
[How is this a coincidence lol]
Just as the title of one community post put it.
People began to consider the possibility that this was not coincidence, but an intentional act.
Egostic, who by destroying that bridge in advance had ended up saving South Korea.
The entire nation's attention fixated on him.
Endless speculation flooding the internet.
[S-rank Hero Apple Mango... I'm sorry for all the misunderstandings until now T_T]
The theory that Egostic was actually a hero cosplaying as a villain.
[If you think Mangostic has precognition then upvote lol]
The theory that he actually possesses the ability to see the future.
[Can't you tell at a glance? He hacked Han-eun Group, found out what those bastards were up to, and stopped them in advance lol]
Even the theory that he had deduced that something like this would happen at Han-eun Group and prevented it in advance.
The common thread among everyone who sees the Mapo Bridge collapse not as coincidence but as Egostic's intention:
He had staged the Mapo Bridge attack to save South Korea.
Until recently, public opinion had branded Egostic a heinous villain who damaged national prestige, while denouncing anyone who supported him as a traitor to the nation.
Then, overnight, it flipped completely.
You could tell just by opening YouTube.
[15 Surprising Facts You Didn't Know About Egostic.]
[In-Depth Investigation: Is Egostic a Hero or a Villain?]
[Survey of the MZ Generation's Opinion of Egostic... 92 Percent Say They "Like Him," Overwhelming Support.]
[Petition to Erect a Statue of Egostic Appears... Just How Far Does His Popularity Reach?]
[The Hot Item at Convenience Stores Among 20-Somethings These Days? We Tried Mangostic Ourselves.]
[Japanese Association President Finally in Tears! 'For a Villain Like Egostic to Exist, Korea Is Truly a Blessed Place.' Even in the Land of Eastern Courtesy, Villains Think of Their Country? The K-Villain Craze Sweeping the World Raises South Korea's Diplomatic Standing!]
***
"Good evening. This is the 9 o'clock news. Tonight, we begin with a villain who has become the talk of the town: Egostic. Joining us is Dr. Jeon Won-bong, who holds a doctorate in superpower studies from Seoul National University. Doctor, good evening."
"Yes, good evening."
"These days, it's rare to find a day when Egostic isn't mentioned. The Mangostic Fandom, as his supporters are nicknamed, is reportedly seeing explosive growth in membership. Why has he suddenly become so popular?"
"Egostic is an ability user with the dual abilities of Telekinesis and Teleportation, and a villain who has already staged four terrorist attacks. He was already quite well known to the public. The reason he's recently drawn attention again is the incident commonly known as the Black Disaster."
"The Black Disaster—wasn't that caused by Han-eun Group? What connection does Egostic have to this incident?"
"To be precise, the bridge Egostic destroyed in a terrorist attack played the biggest role in stopping this disaster. Had the bridge remained, that monster would have crossed it and advanced straight toward northern Seoul. Looking purely at the outcome, one could even say we avoided disaster thanks to Egostic."
"Ah. But isn't that a complete coincidence?"
"Netizens think otherwise. There's an unsubstantiated rumor circulating that he possesses precognition and destroyed the bridge in advance, knowing what would happen, to save South Korea. The past incident in which Apple Mango—an S-rank hero suspected by some to be Egostic—thwarted Monkey Spanner's terrorist attack appears to be the basis for the current speculation."
"So, Doctor, do you think differently?"
"Yes. The idea of precognition is absurd. More likely, this was simply an incredible coincidence. But I personally believe Egostic did know in advance and prevented it—not through precognition, but through other means."
"What do you mean?"
"I suspect he perhaps learned that some kind of experiment was being conducted underground at Han-eun Group. Given the hacking ability he's demonstrated, it's entirely plausible..."
Click.
She pressed the power button.
The screen went dark.
There was no need to hear any more.
Plop.
She leaned back against the sofa and closed her eyes, thinking slowly.
Egostic.
Personally executing other villains. An attack where people were told to kill one another. An attack where people were tied to railroad tracks and a train was sent toward them. An attack where he dropped planes when people failed a quiz. An attack where he threatened to drop a bridge unless he was paid.
The countless terrorist attacks he had carried out clearly defined him as a villain.
However.
Attacks where no one died. His advice never to reveal her identity. Stopping the terrorist attack carried out by his own followers. Personally killing other villains. The trust he placed in her when he told her to save the plane. Stopping an attack under the name Apple Mango. Catching the cars falling from the bridge.
And now, even stopping a disaster.
So what, then, do all of those actions define him as?
Yes.
At this point, she had no choice but to admit it.
The man was violent, antisocial, arrogant, unpredictable, and killed other villains without a second thought.
He also staged terrorist attacks to threaten the public, and on the rare occasions he intervened, he answered that he had done it because he felt like it.
But in the end, when she added it all up.
He had never killed anyone. He eliminated villains who threatened civilian safety. Whenever another attack occurred, he stepped in to stop it, claiming he had been provoked, that someone had mentioned him, or that he was simply bored.
"....."
She admitted it.
What?
That even she no longer knew what to think.
"Haa..."
Late at night.
Moonlight streamed quietly through a side window of her home.
Beneath it, she could only sigh in confusion.
Years since she began working as a hero.
Yet no villain had ever unsettled her—or preoccupied her—quite like this.
"Egostic."
The name slipped from her lips before she knew it.
Egostic. What a ridiculous name.
But you.
Just what are you?
Just a villain—nothing more than a villain.
So why do you make me care this much?